Innocent Eyes
by no1slayer
Summary: Sequel to the story Are You Happy Now. years later how is buffy getting along in England. central characters Buffy, Spike, Ella , Willow, Giles. Post Chosen. COMPLETED
1. Chapter 1

_I don't own any of the characters in this they all belong to Joss Whedon, FOX and mutant enemy. You know the drill, so please don't sue. Written for fun not profit. _

_This is the sequel to my first fanfic are you happy now. If you want to understand this I recommend you read it but its not essential. _

_Historians note: 15 years after Buffy leaves LA to England. This follows Buffy, Ella and the rest of the scoobies with the new watchers council. _

**Innocent Eyes **

**Prologue**

Buffy the vampire slayer hadn't changed a bit. Her long blonde hair still curled down her back and her green eyes sparkled as bright as ever. She had adjusted to life in England well, so had her daughter.

Buffy now worked at the Watchers Head Quarters in London. Being the head slayer she was in charge of the training of the newbie slayers. Kennedy and the other potentials that had showed up in Sunnydale helped out being the main trainers, with the help of Faith when she wasn't off picking up new slayers that were showing up around the globe.

Buffys 15 year old daughter didn't know about what she did or who she was. She didn't know her mum had been saving the world over and over again since she was her age. Buffy thought it would be safer this way, she wanted to protect her and didn't want her little girl having to deal with everything she had to when she was younger.

Ella had a lot of questions about her dad. Buffy had told her that he had died when she was one. Which was technically true, he was dead, in a walking round un-dead kind of way. This just un-complicated things; it made her life a lot easier.

Buffy hadn't seen spike in 15 years. Willow had put a cloaking spell on everyone to protect everyone from enemies. The previous watchers council had been blown up by agents of the first and Giles (now head of the watchers council) wanted to minimise the risk. And this worked perfectly for Buffy. At first it had been hard, especially with all the questions from Ella when she was younger, but she adjusted to it.

So according to Ella her mum was a counsellor and a private school for girls, which was kinda true in some ways as well. All the scoobies had been keeping the alias for the 15 years she had lived here with no slip-ups.

She and her friends had come so far. Since she moved over here, they all had grown close again. Even though sometimes they went on trips to other countries to collect new slayers they were still as close as they ever where.

Even her and faith had become closer, which surprised everyone. Since they had to work together, they had decided to get along, but then found they actually enjoyed each others company, which she put down to maturity.

Faith was still will Principle Wood, even though he wasn't a principle anymore, he still kept it as a nickname. The only people who called him Robin was Faith and the other scoobies.

Buffy enjoyed her job. She still went patrolling occasionally but she felt at ease that she didn't have to do it everyday like she used to in Sunnydale. She was head slayer; all she had to do really was pass on knowledge, even though sometimes she did go out on patrol, just to keep in shape.

She had thought that after the first there would be a decrease in evil. She was wrong, at first yes, there was less but now it was the same as usual. Normal beasties terrorising innocent people, it was back to square one. But at least it wasn't her against the world anymore, which was a plus.

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_hey everyone , I'm back. Yes I know it took me a while but yay I'm back. This chapter was just a fill in so ya know whats going on. its gonna be good… well in my opinion it is. _

_Just wanna thank my great mate maria for helping sort my ideas out in my crazy brain. I appreciate it _

_And I also wanna thank all the readers of are you happy now. I hope yu enjoy the follow up. That all for now folks, updates coming soon. _


	2. Chapter 2

_I don't own any of the characters in this they all belong to Joss Whedon, FOX and mutant enemy. You know the drill, so please don't sue. Written for fun not profit. _

_This is the sequel to my first fanfic are you happy now. If you want to understand this I recommend you read it but its not essential. _

_Historians note: 15 years after Buffy leaves LA to England. This follows Buffy, Ella and the rest of the scoobies with the new watchers council_

The usual 

Ella walked over to her cd player and pressed play. Music screamed out of her speakers that were positioned all around her room. Her mum wasn't home yet so it didn't matter.

She tossed her long brown hair over her shoulder as she picked up a magazine and jumped on her bed. She pilled pillows behind her back to lean on and rested her head on the lavender wall.

A few minutes later her bedroom door opened and her mum walked in. she walked over to the cd player and pressed 'stop'.

"Hey I was listening to that" Ella said, as she looked up from her magazine.

"All I can hear is noise. I can hear that from down the street ya know" her mum replied her American accent still strong and still sounded odd against her daughters English accent.

Ella didn't reply.

"How was school?" she asked.

"It was ok; ya know the sit down shut up routine, the usual. But thank god the holidays start now, no work for like 6 weeks I cant wait !" she said with a smile. "How about you?" Ella asked.

"It was ok" she said. Buffy didn't really like to talk about her 'work' around Ella just in case she said the wrong thing that would make her question what her mum did for a living. "I'm ordering pizza, you want your usual?"

Ella nodded. "Sure" she said eagerly.

Buffy turned around and walked out of her daughter's room and closed the door behind her. Buffy walked downstairs to the living room.

Buffy went over to the phone and dialled in the regular pizza number, after talking to the owner for a while, she ordered. She was a regular customer considering she had never really got the hang of cooking. Well she could un-box frozen food and put it in the oven, usually not burning it. But that was about the high light of her culinary expertise.

The front door opened and in walked Willow and Kennedy.

"Hello" Willow shouted as she closed the door behind them.

"In here" Buffy replied from the living room.

Soon the red head and brunette appeared in front of Buffy and they collapsed on the opposite sofa.

"Rough day?" Buffy asked.

"Yeah" Willow said with a sigh. "Those slayers never get tired do they?"

Buffy smiled. It was true, the new slayers could be a handful, but Buffy managed to keep up with them.

"I'm not tired" Kennedy said. "Well maybe a little." She rested her head on Willow's shoulder.

"How you doing Buff?" willow asked.

"I'm ok. Kinda tired." Buffy said with a weak smile.

There was another knock at the door.

"I'll get it" Kennedy got up from the sofa and walked to the front door. "Pizza's here!" she shouted.

Ella walked out of her bedroom and ran down the stairs. "Did I hear some one say something about pizza?" She ran to the front door and took the pizza boxes off Kennedy as she paid the delivery guy. Ella walked back into the living room and put the boxes down on the table, she immediately opened them and grabbed a slice of margarita.

"Emm have you ever heard of a plate?" Buffy asked her daughter.

"Well mum, if you want less washing up, I say we eat it like this". Ella said with a smile. She already had tomato around her mouth, just like she always did when she was little.

Kenney came back in.

The conversations they had around Ella were strained. It was difficult to know where to start because most of what they talked about was work related, so those conversations had to end when she came in the room.

The rest of the evening went smoothly. They ate pizza and watched a 'rom-com', their favourite thing for a girly night in.

Soon after this Kennedy, Willow and Ella went to bed, leaving Buffy to put the boxes in the trash.

It was just like Sunnydale, everyone under the same roof. Buffy didn't mind, it was nice that things hadnt changed much. Dawn had her own little flat closer to work, she was a trainee watcher. She did come over to the house regularly so it wasn't like she never saw her sister.

Buffy looked up to the moon that was shining bright in the sky. She put them pizza boxes in the recycling box and glanced around her garden. She never really tended to it, which was Willows thing. She planted things that she could use in spells, not that Ella knew that.

Buffy walked back into the house and closed the back door behind her. She walked slowly upstairs to her bedroom and sat down on her bed. She looked at the pictures of Ella and her that she had framed and put on her bedside table. Her little girl had grown so much.

That night, Buffy had a dream. Well, it wasn't really a dream it was more like reliving a memory, she remembered everything little thing, every feeling she had at that moment. It was of the day she left Spike in LA. She hadn't thought about this in a while, but it felt like she was there again.

"_Buffy, I love you" he said. _

"_I love you too, but I still have to go" Buffy turned around. _

"_Will this make you happy?" Spike asked. _

"_Probably not" Buffy said facing the door, "but it's what I have to do". _

_With that, Buffy walked out into the bright morning sunshine, leaving spike alone inside the building. He couldn't do anything. He couldn't go outside. _

_Buffy walked down the steps, tears in her eyes. The cab driver put her bag in the trunk of the car and she got in. She wiped the tears away from her eyes and looked at her daughter. _

"_Where to?" the cab driver asked. _

"_The airport please" she said. _

_Buffy looked down at her daughter who rested in her arms. She knew she was doing the right thing. Bringing Ella up around spike would be… bad. He couldn't be a dad, he couldn't even go outside. _

_Buffy watched the tall building pass by as they got further away. _

"_This is the right thing to do" she whispered and kissed baby Ella on the forehead. _

_Buffy knew spike wouldn't give up that easy. She needed a way to hide herself from him. 'maybe Will can do something' Buffy thought to herself. _

_Never seeing spike again didn't make her happy. she did love him, but she didn't trust herself when she was around him. She could think straight. Doing this made life simpler. _

_Buffy closed her eyes and all she saw was Spike. Even though he wasn't around he still haunted her. He just wouldn't leave her alone. _

Buffy opened her eyes and sat up in bed. She took a deep breath and looked around, it was still dark. She sighed and moved the hair out of her face; she thought she could forget about him, even after all this time. She was wrong.

_TBC_

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It will get more interesting soon promised. Please review!


	3. Chapter 3

_I don't own any of the characters in this they all belong to Joss Whedon, FOX and mutant enemy. You know the drill, so please don't sue. Written for fun not profit. _

_This is the sequel to my first fanfic are you happy now. If you want to understand this I recommend you read it but its not essential. _

_Historians note: 15 years after Buffy leaves LA to England. This follows Buffy, Ella and the rest of the scoobies with the new watchers council_

Still Searching

_Los Angeles – present day _

"Bloody hell how long is this going to take" Spike shouted across the room.

Angel leaned back in his chair. 15 years and they still couldn't get along, well they had already spent a life time together back in the day, and you would think they could get used to each other by now.

"I've told you time and time again we can't locate her" Angel told him for the millionth time.

"I've been back to the bloody mother country and she's not anywhere, she can't have disappeared off the face of the earth." Spike said. He sat down in the chair opposite angel on the other side of the desk.

"I've told you, we've looked a thousand times. I've had loads of my people working on it for years. We don't know were she is. I wish I did, but I don't. I don't understand how you can still be in love with her after what she did. She left you and took her baby with her. Cant you take a hint?" Angel asked him. He and Spike had had this conversation many times before and they still hadn't gotten anywhere.

"Don't you think I've thought about this? She left for a reason, I get that, I aint stupid" spike said.

"Well that's still under debate" Angel said under his breath. Spike still heard and shot him an angry look. Spike continued anyway.

"She's the only woman I've ever loved. And when I say loved, I mean for eternity, unlike some people" Spike said.

Angel had been dating Nina for the past 5 years. 'He went for another blonde' Spike thought to himself, 'so much or the love of his life. This proves I lover her more than captain forehead'. It was always a competition between Angel and Spike, and they always seemed to fight about woman, among other things.

Angel ignored Spikes comment. "What do you want me to do?" he asked Spike.

"Nothing" Spike replied. "I bet I can do a better job than you and your lot peaches."

Spike walked out of the office determined to find his girl. It was strange to think that it had been 15 years since he had last seen her. Well he dreamed about her every night, but to actually be in the same room as her physically, being able to reach out and touch her….. But she always seemed to fade away.

Spike wasn't much of a thinker. But when he wanted something, he always went for it. And this was one thing that he wasn't going to loose. Not matter how many years had passed by; he was sure he would find her again. It did cross his mind a couple of times that she might be dead, maybe there was another apocalypse he hadn't heard about. But then he reassured himself, 'I would know. I would be able to feel it'. He repeatedly told himself this.

He walked through wolfram and hart and down to the lab where Fred was. She was always helping him out in times of crisis, she was full of optimism.

He walked through the glass doors and saw Fred leaning over a microscope. She looked up as he walked in. "Hey spike" she said with a smile.

"Hey luv" he said as he sat down on a stool. He watched her work for a couple of minutes then she stopped.

"Still no luck?" Fred asked the vampire.

"No" spike said. "Angels got his people looking all over the world supposedly. Well not looking exactly, it's magic or something, never really understood it myself."

"Yeah" Fred said softly with a smile. "I'm sure they'll find something"

"You said that 15 years ago" Spike said.

There was silence in the lab, apart from the occasional beeps of alarms from Fred's little experiments. He sat on the stool for hours trying to think of a way he could find the slayer.

Spike looked up, "slayer that's it!" he said.

TBC

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_sorry it is so short. _

_Also soz I haven't updated in ages. Ive had so much school work to do. But I will update soon I promise._

_Reviews are appreciated. _


	4. Chapter 4

_I don't own any of the characters in this they all belong to Joss Whedon, FOX and mutant enemy. You know the drill, so please don't sue. Written for fun not profit. _

_This is the sequel to my first fanfic are you happy now. If you want to understand this I recommend you read it but its not essential. _

_Historians note: 15 years after Buffy leaves LA to England. This follows Buffy, Ella and the rest of the scoobies with the new watchers council_

Things are gonna change

"What?" willow questioned. "Take down the cloaking spell?"

Giles walked around from behind his desk and sat down casually on top of his desk in front of willow who was sitting in a leather arm chair.

"Well" Giles started, "Its come to my attention that some slayers are finding it hard to get in contact with us, especially the ones without full time watchers. And the cloaking spell is making it more difficult. Besides, it's been years since Sunnydale and the first or any other big players have come after us, so I think we are all safe".

Willow nodded. "Yeah I guess" she said quietly. Giles did make a good point, there wasn't much need for the spell anymore and it took a lot of power to maintain.

"Ok" willow said. "When is this going to happen?" she asked the head watcher.

"Tomorrow. I've already got in touch with the coven and they would like your assistance in bringing it down" Giles continued.

"Who else knows about this?" Willow asked.

"We will let everyone know when it comes down" Giles stated.

Willow stood up. "Its ok if I tell Buffy isn't it?" she asked finally as she picked up her bag which was on the floor next to the chair.

"Sure" Giles said. "I was going to call her but if you're going home you might as well tell her."

Willow gave Giles a quick hug and said her good bys. She walked out of the office and down the steps and onto the street.

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Buffy was sitting in the kitchen when willow got home. Willow walked into the kitchen, "hey" she said as she put her bag down on the counter.

"Hey" Buffy said with a smile.

"Where's Ella?" willow asked. She went over to the fridge and grabbed a bottle of water.

"Out with Kennedy, they're getting food or should I say junk for this sleepover she's going to" Buffy said, "They'll be back later"

Willow nodded. "Oh Buff I have something to tell you. Giles was going to call but said I might as well tell you as I was coming home"

Buffy sat down on a stool and willow sat across the counter from her.

"Giles told me and the coven to take down the cloaking spell" Willow said.

Buffy was quiet for a moment, thinking. She looked up, "why?" she asked.

"Because, it takes a lot of power to maintain which could be used somewhere else and we don't really need it anymore." Willow said.

"That's true" Buffy said. "Well if that power could be used somewhere else. I guess it's a good thing. When is this thing going down?"

"I'm meeting with the coven early tomorrow" Willow replied, Buffy was taking this surprisingly well, willow thought. "I'm going to have a bath anyway."

"Ok see ya" Buffy said as Willow walked out the kitchen.

Buffy sat for a while in silence. Then it hit her. 'Wait a minute' she thought to herself. The cloaking spell was the only thing that stopped Spike finding her. So was it a good thing or bad thing that spell would be gone? 'He's forgotten about me I'm sure. He probably gave up ages ago. It's been years'.

Buffy stood up still thinking. She got up off the stool and started to load the dishwasher. 'It will be ok' she thought. She finished doing her jobs around the house still thinking about the cloaking spell and Spike and all the other things that tied in with it. She had been hiding for so long, and she didn't know if she could live with the thought that any day Spike could show up out of the blue on her doorstep.

'No he won't!' and that was the final thought Buffy had on the matter that evening.

That evening Ella was going to a birthday party and was sleeping over. So Buffy had a peaceful evening. Willow and Kennedy had gone out for the night, so Buffy had the whole house to herself. She decided to have an early night, knowing that after tonight anything could happen.

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_Hey guys soz again its taken so long to update. So many ideas in my head its hard to know what to choose. And Ive also had a hard time uploading to the site which sucks I know, but its sorted now so yay. Hope your happy with it. Its gonna get better I promise. Please review as always  _


	5. Chapter 5

_I don't own any of the characters in this they all belong to Joss Whedon, FOX and mutant enemy. You know the drill, so please don't sue. Written for fun not profit. _

_This is the sequel to my first fanfic are you happy now. If you want to understand this I recommend you read it but its not essential. _

_Historians note: 15 years after Buffy leaves LA to England. This follows Buffy, Ella and the rest of the scoobies with the new watchers council_

Time for a change 

_Los Angeles – Wolfram and Hart _

Spike walked into Angels office. As usual he was sitting at his desk doing work, did he ever do anything else.

"I've had an idea" Spike said as he closed the doors behind him

"Spike I'm busy" Angel said, not looking up from his book.

"I don't care" Spike said walking towards the desk. "I've had an idea of how I can find Buffy. I think…"

Angel interrupted him. "I've found her" he said and he looked up from his book.

Spike froze, he wasn't expecting angel to say that. He was expecting a long talk that they'd already had about a thousand times about how she didn't want him that's why he left etc etc.

"You found her?" he asked, double checking that he had heard right.

"Yes" Angel said. "She's in England like we thought. There was some kind of spell hiding her but its been brought down for some reason and I heard a couple of hours ago where she was" he explained.

"Right ok" spike said, "Then I'm going. Give me her address or what ever and I'll be out of your hair"

Angel picked up a piece of paper off the desk and handed it over to Spike. Spike took the paper and put it in his coat pocket.

. "I'll need some transport, maybe the viper" he smiled.

"No" Angel said. "Not the viper. But there will be a car for you in England. The quicker you get out of here the better, not that I'm happy about you running off to see if Buffy but…"

"Thanks" Spike said.

"Don't hurt her" Angel said.

Spike looked at his grandsire, "try not to mate" he said.

And with that Spike walked out of Angels office. He went straight to his apartment and packed up his stuff. And called reception to get some one to make sure it was shipped to England.

This was what he had been waiting for. The time when he could see Buffy and his daughter again.

_Many hours and a plane ride later _

It was evening when Spike arrived in England. All he had was one bag with him and the rest he hoped would be shipped over soon. Before he left wolfram and hart he had persuaded Fred to find him a place to stay while he was in England and she said she would send him the details when she found something. That was nearly 12 hours ago and now he was here.

As Spike walked out of the terminal he saw a man dressed in black with his name on a card. Spike walked over to him and he was handed a set of car keys. Spike looked over the mans shoulder to see a black viper. A grin swept across his face as he walked over to it.

He put his bag on the other seat and got in the drivers seat. 'thanks peaches' he thought to himself. The car had everything, cd changer, sat nav and his cd's had been put in as well. How weird, maybe this wasn't Angel after all; this could have been down to Fred.

He input Buffys address into the satellite navigation and started driving.

So many things were going through his head. What if Buffy wasn't there? Was she married? What about Ella, she'd be 15 now. But he wouldn't know the answer until he got there so he had about an hour to get his thoughts together before he would find out.

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Next chapter coming soon, I might start writing it now lol.

Please review, sorry for the long wait … yet again.


	6. Chapter 6

_I don't own any of the characters in this they all belong to Joss Whedon, FOX and mutant enemy. You know the drill, so please don't sue. Written for fun not profit. _

_This is the sequel to my first fanfic are you happy now. If you want to understand this I recommend you read it but its not essential. _

_Historians note: 15 years after Buffy leaves LA to England. This follows Buffy, Ella and the rest of the scoobies with the new watchers council_

Just Like Old times

Ella had arrived back from her friend's house late afternoon and went straight to bed. Sleepovers really should be called 'wakeovers', no one ever got any sleep.

Buffy put Ella's dinner in the fridge covered in foil. She would hungry later she was sure and whenever Ella woke up the first place she went was the fridge.

After washing up the dishes Buffy went into the living room and switched on the tv. She never really watched a lot of tv but because slayers she was training were on their summer vacation she didn't really have much to do.

She looked at the clock and it was 8 o'clock. She flicked through the channels and landed on a soap called Eastenders. Buffy liked this show, she found it funny that they said the word 'family' at least 50 times each episode. But the show was good. Full of families arguing and people having affairs with the next door neighbour who just so happened to be their cousins husband. It was all very complicated but it was entertaining for half an hour a night.

Buffy put her feet up on the table when there was a knock on the door. She sighed, "What now?" she said as she got up off the sofa. She was just getting comfortable, she would send who ever it was away and tell them to come back tomorrow.

She pulled the door open and her heart stopped.

Spike was standing right in front of her, on her porch, looking at her.

Spike looked at her, she hadn't changed a bit. Her eyes were as bright as ever and her hair was still long and golden, it was like he never left. Or like she never left him.

"Spike?" she questioned. "Did I fall asleep?"

"Dreaming about me have you love?" he asked with a smile and tilting his head a little to the side.

"What?" she was confused. 'I didn't fall asleep did i?' she thought again. If she was dreaming it felt so real. She pinched herself on the arm, nope not dreaming, he was here.

"Hi Buffy" he said coolly.

Buffy couldn't find words. She hadn't seen him in 15 years this was all very confusing.

He searched her eyes, she looked so confused. "Can I come in?" he asked.

"No emm I mean oh I …." Buffy muttered. He brain wasn't functioning. She never thought she would see him again. No matter how many times she dreamt it, she never thought it would actually happen.

"Luv" he said.

"Emm yeah come in" Buffy said.

Spike stepped in from the cold and the dark. Buffy closed the door after him.

Spike followed Buffy into the living room. It was similar to the one in Sunnydale, she had a couple of pieces of furniture that were the same, it probably felt more like home to her.

Buffy turned around to face him. "You're here" she said simply.

"Yeah luv, guess I should have called you before but I didn't want you to run off or something" he said.

"Why would you think that?" Buffy asked.

"Well you did it before didn't you? You went away and I didn't know what you would do if I called out of the blew. I only just found out where you've been all this time." He told her as he put his hands in his pockets.

'He's been looking for me' Buffy thought. 'So does this mean he still loves me after all this time? After everything I did to him he still wants me'.

"I need a drink" she said as she walked off to the kitchen. Spike followed her.

Buffy grabbed a bottle of vodka and poured some into a glass. She drank it in one and put the glass back on the counter.

"Your drinking skills have improve I see" Spike said leaning in the kitchen doorway.

"Yeah well I've had time to practice" she said looking at him. Look at them, it was like nothing had changed. Almost as if they were back in Sunnydale again.

"You want a drink?" she asked him. She didn't really know what else to say to him. She felt weird, this was just … this wasn't meant to happen, this hadn't been in her plan.

"No I'm fine pet, I just think we need to talk" Spike said.

"Talk ok, I can do that" Buffy said, she drank another shot of vodka and then sat down on a stool, he did the same.

Spike didn't really know where to start. 'ok say something' he said to himself.

"How've you been?" he asked. 'ok it's a start'.

"Emmm I've been good thanks, how about you?" she asked in return.

"Yeah I'm ok I guess." He said.

Buffy nodded. There was a moment of silence.

"got a girlfriend?" she asked him randomly, it was the first thing that came to mind. She didn't like awkward silences.

"No luv" he said with a laugh. "What about you?"

"Nope no girlfriend. Not batting for the other side just yet." She said with a smile. "And no, no boyfriend, husband nada."

Part of Spike gave an inward sigh of relief, that's what he wanted to hear. But the other part felt that she must be lonely.

Buffy heard moving upstairs, 'oh no Ella'. Buffy had completely forgotten her daughter was in the house.

"Is that?" Spike asked. His girl, Ella, just upstairs. He hadn't been in the same country as her never mind the same house as her in nearly 16 years.

"Yeah" Buffy said she got up off her stool. She heard her coming down the stairs.

"Mum" Ella called as she walked down the stairs. "You home?"

"Yeah I'm home" Buffy replied. She looked at Spike, oh no this was going to be bad. She could control what she was going to say, but she had no clue what Spike was going to do.

Spike got off his stool as well.

Ella walked into the kitchen wearing dark washed blue jeans and a black tank top and her long brown hair flowing down her back.

She looked at her mum and then the strange man in the kitchen.

Ella tilted her head to the side a little, "Who the hell are you?" she asked.

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Hope you liked , I just had to write more after the last chapter so aint you guys lucky. 2 chapters ! woohooo I hear you say. Anyway I hope you enjoyed and more will be coming soon.

Review please please I beg of you

Hope xxx


	7. Chapter 7

_I don't own any of the characters in this they all belong to Joss Whedon, FOX and mutant enemy. You know the drill, so please don't sue. Written for fun not profit. _

_This is the sequel to my first fanfic are you happy now. If you want to understand this I recommend you read it but its not essential. _

_Historians note: 15 years after Buffy leaves LA to England. This follows Buffy, Ella and the rest of the scoobies with the new watchers council_

That Spark

_Ella walked into the kitchen wearing dark washed blue jeans and a black tank top and her long brown hair flowing down her back._

_She looked at her mum and then the strange man in the kitchen. _

_Ella tilted her head to the side a little, "Who the hell are you?" she asked_.

Buffy froze. 'think Buffy think' she told herself. She quickly looked at Spike then back at Ella.

"Emm" Spike said looking at Buffy.

Ella raised her eyebrow, "mum? Hello?" she asked. 'Why is she acting all weird?' she thought.

"I'm..." Spike started.

"He's Spike" Buffy told her daughter. "He works with me, I mean he works at the school… where I work… that's all really" Buffy rambled. She didn't know what Spike was going to say to Ella and didn't really want to find out. Well at the minute Spike didn't look like he could say anything, he was looking staring just at Ella.

Ella looked at him strangely then back at her mum. "Err ok then" she said. She walked over to the fridge and took out a bottle of water.

"Ok well I'm going to bed, the sleep over was one of the non sleeping variety so I'm beat. Night" Ella said, she gave her mum a quick hug and walked out the kitchen and upstairs 'has she finally got herself a boyfriend?' Ella thought as she closed her bedroom door behind her.

Spike looked at Buffy, "I work with you?" he asked.

"What? I panicked" Buffy said.

"You could have just told her the truth" Spike said.

Buffy sighed. "oh ok Ella this is your dad the one I said was dead, well he is dead, un dead to be exact and I'm a slayer who was meant to kill him but then didn't and he died again but came back as you can see…" Buffy said really quickly.

"You told her I died, why?" he interrupted.

"It's just… well you did…" Buffy said, "Everything is just too complicated. Its easier and safer if she doesn't know."

"So what I don't get to see her, you think I'll hurt her is that it?" Spike asked. "You can't keep shutting me out luv".

"She will hate me if she found out I lied to her" Buffy said.

"Well maybe you shouldn't have lied." Spike said.

"You can't lecture me about lying" Buffy said. "Just… why are you here? You think you can just walk back into my life?"

"I don't know" Spike said. "All I know is that I haven't been able to get you out of my mind, which isn't a change from normal really."

Buffy sat back down on the stool; she had a head ache coming on.

Spike leaned against the wall. He watched Buffy, his Buffy. It still felt like no time had passed, it felt just like Sunnydale.

"Its late, I'm tired" Buffy said.

"I guess you want me to go then." Spike said, a little part of him wanted her to ask him to stay but this was reality and knew that was never going to happen.

"Please" Buffy said.

Spike nodded, "I'm not just gonna leave this you know pet" he told her.

"I know, you're very persistent, speaking from experience" Buffy said with a little smile. She walked out of the kitchen and into the hall way.

Spike followed her. "I'll speak to you soon, we need to sort this out" he said.

Buffy nodded. They both reached for the door handle, his hand was over hers. Buffy looked at him, she felt something. A spark. It was like electricity was coursing through her

He felt it too. He looked into her eyes, those green pools that sparkled brightly. He could get lost simply by looking at her.

But she soon pulled her hand out from under his and he opened the door.

"Night" he said and walked back out into the darkness.

Buffy closed the door behind him and leaned back against it.

"Why is my life always so complicated" she said. Buffy went into the kitchen and locked the back door then walked upstairs to her room, she was tired.

Buffy sat down on her bed her head in her hands. She had so many things going through her head. She imagined many different reactions that Ella might have. None of which turned out good for her. Why did Spike always mess things up. She had got her life together, her daughter was safe, and she was safe, well as safe as head slayer could be. She was in a job that she actually liked most of the time, no more double meat burgers for her. She was happy here, she didn't have a boyfriend but that didn't matter. Men just complicated things, they always had complicated her life. Angel, Riley and especially Spike. At the darkest point in her life, being with him had made things simpler. But not now, 'I don't need him, I don't want him, I'm fine without him', Buffy repeated this over and over in her head as she got into her bed. This was going to be a long sleepless night.

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Please review as you guys always do. Good and bad reviews accepted, tell me what you think honestly , I don't mind lol.

Next chapter coming soon !


	8. Chapter 8

_I don't own any of the characters in this they all belong to Joss Whedon, FOX and mutant enemy. You know the drill, so please don't sue. Written for fun not profit. _

_This is the sequel to my first fanfic are you happy now. If you want to understand this I recommend you read it but it's not essential. _

_Historians note: 15 years after Buffy leaves LA to England. This follows Buffy, Ella and the rest of the scoobies with the new watchers council_

_hey guys before I start I wanna say sorry, I know its been a long time since I last updated. But ive been going through a lot of personal and family problems which had to come first I'm afraid. I hope you guys understand and continue to read my story, I know its been a long time so you've probably moved on, but still I just thought I'd let you guys know that im back and I can write again. Enjoy please, I write for you guys. Thanks a lot , Hope xx_

Chapter 8

Spike walked out to the car and got in. he sighed with relief as he started the engine. Buffy looked better than ever, she looked happy and that made him happy. He had a brief phone conversation with Fred before he drove away. Fred had booked him a couple of nights in a small hotel about fifteen minutes away from Buffys house. Fred had always been good to Spike, she had tried to bring him back, well make him corporeal which was more or less the same thing. most of the time in LA he felt like he didn't exist, but Fred cared and she wanted to help. She said she was looking into apartments for him and when he told her there was no need she didn't take no for an answer so he thanked her and when their conversation ended he followed the directions to his hotel.

He thought about Buffy all the way there and when he arrived and got to his room, he thought about her even more. The hotel was nice, it was small so he knew there wouldn't be any trouble. His room was comfy, there was a tv, a mimi fridge and a double bed so he was happy.

All evening he thought about buffy and what he could do. He knew she wanted him back, he felt it when he touched her hand before he left. They fit, they were perfect for each other, even if she didn't want to admit it.

…………………….

Buffy awoke the next morning. She had a head ache already and the day had only just begun. She pulled on her white fluffy dressing gown and walked downstairs to the kitchen where Ella was making breakfast.

"Hey" Ella said cheerily.

"Hi" Buffy said as she picked a glass out of the cupboard and filled it with water. Then went over to another cupboard to find herself some aspirin.

"You not feeling good?" Ella asked as she filled her pancake and then placed it on the plate next to her. A smile of accomplishment on her face as she hadn't got the pancake stuck to the ceiling like last time she attempted to toss it.

"Got a bit of a head ache that's all" She told her daughter as she sat down on a stool and took the aspirin.

Ella nodded and started pouring syrup on her pancake, too much in Buffy's opinion.

"You do know you're going to have no teeth left after eating all that" Buffy said with a small smile.

"Nah!" Ella said as she grabbed a knife and fork. "Anyway tell me about that guy you had over last night"

Buffy looked up from the glass of water she had been looking at. "Huh?" she asked.

"The guy…" Ella said. "I wanna say Pike…"

"Spike" Buffy corrected. "And he's no one, I told you just a guy from work"

"And since when do you bring guys home from work?" Ella said, "Come on tell me the details."

Buffy had a shocked look on her face as she looked at her daughter. "He's no one ok. And even if he was I wouldn't be telling you any of the details." She said with a little smirk.

"Ok he's no one" Ella said sarcastically. "You didn't have the look of 'oh my god he's so hot' on your face at all"

Buffy's stomach dropped. "I didn't did I?" she asked. If Ella saw, Spike had seen. Which she didn't really understand why that was a bad thing. A lot of time had passed and she was more grown up now. And he was exactly the same. She could handle a mature relationship; well with Spike she wasn't sure it would be mature but none the less. In her head for a brief moment she had an image of her and Spike happy together, looking normal, what ever normal was.

Buffy shook herself out of these thoughts as Ella kept talking.

"He doesn't really look your type. He had that whole 'bad boy' thing going on. I thought of you more with a simple guy, ya know what I mean. But I guess any guy is better than no guy right!" she said with a smile.

"Hey I can get guys" Buffy fought back. "I can" she said to her daughters look of disbelief. "I could get any guy, but I'm not a slut … so I don't… but I can ok"

"Ok mum what ever!" Ella said as she finished her pancake. "I'm just happy for you is all. You looked happy last night, its nice to see." Ella put her plate in the dishwasher. She walked over to Buffy's side and gave her mum a kiss on the cheek. "I'm going to get dressed" and with that Ella walked out of the kitchen and upstairs.

Buffy finished her water and looked over at the phone, she needed to talk to him. She hoped he would call her, she would call him if she had his number. She cursed herself for not asking but she had been in so much shock of seeing him. And of course, in Sunnydale and LA he had always been close by. But now he could be anywhere doing anything. That's when she realised, she needed him close by, it made her feel safe, made her feel wanted. She hadnt felt like that in sixteen years. That was the thing she had been missing, this is the thing she had been looking for. She'd been looking for Spike.

………………………………………………………………..

**TBC**


	9. Chapter 9

_I don't own any of the characters in this they all belong to Joss Whedon, FOX and mutant enemy. You know the drill, so please don't sue. Written for fun not profit. _

_This is the sequel to my first fanfic are you happy now. If you want to understand this I recommend you read it but it's not essential. _

_Historians note: 15 years after Buffy leaves LA to England. This follows Buffy, Ella and the rest of the scoobies with the new watchers council_

_Hey guys yeah im back. Sorry its been so long. I thought you guys had stopped reading until I received a review today. Its weird I was thinking that I haven't written anything for ages and then I receive an email, how weird is that. anywhoo here it is. Im a bit rusty so you'll have to forgive me. Please review so I know you guys are reading this ! thank you for you support and patients. Hope xxx_

Stop saying sorry

She sat on the sofa, looking at the phone that she held in her hand. She was trapped in her own thoughts but jumped when she heard ringing bringing her back to the real world.

'Its him, please be him' Buffy thought to herself. She had decided she wanted to be with him. She would tell him and everything would be ok, she was sure of it. She pressed the green button and put the phone to her ear.

"Hello" she said, taking a deep breath waiting to hear his voice.

"Hey pet" Spike said, he was so glad to hear her voice as well.

Buffy gave a small smile. She pulled her legs up on the sofa and tried to relax.

"Before you say anything, I just want to say I am sorry about not telling Ella, I really am. I just didn't know what to do".

"I get it pet, you don't have to explain" Spike said, he knew Buffy hadn't really meant to hurt him; she just did what was best at the time.

"I am sorry" she said again, "I really am. I didn't think I'd ever see you again so I didn't think it would matter".

"Sorry to disrupt your plans" Spike said, he sounded a bit angry with her.

"No, I didn't ….. I'm sorry ok" Buffy said.

"Ok, first of all stop saying sorry" Spike said.

Buffy smiled, "ok I'm… never mind".

There was silence, it wasn't tense, they were both just thinking about what to do next. This was harder than she thought it would be. She thought she could just say she needed him and it would all be ok. Maybe this would be easier in person.

"Emmmmm….." she said, trying to think. "Would you come over this evening, we've got some stuff we need to talk about, I've got things I have to tell you"

"I'll be there" Spike said. He hung up the phone, a smile across his face. Everything was going to be ok.

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ok yeah I know its short, but if you guys review and let me know your out there I will defiantly continue writing. Thanks for being so understanding.


	10. Chapter 10

_I don't own any of the characters in this they all belong to Joss Whedon, FOX and mutant enemy. You know the drill, so please don't sue. Written for fun not profit. _

_This is the sequel to my first fanfic are you happy now. If you want to understand this I recommend you read it but it's not essential. _

_Historians note: 15 years after Buffy leaves LA to England. This follows Buffy, Ella and the rest of the scoobies with the new watchers council_

_Darkflame1516, you are the review I received which made me decide to write again , so this chapter is dedicated to you._

Chapter 10 - Confessions

He lightly knocked on the front door and dropped the cigarette he held between his fingers and let it drop to the floor. He extinguished the glowing with his boot and leaned against the wall waiting for her to answer the door. He thought it was all so sudden, even though he had waited and looked for her for fifteen years, now it was here; it felt like no time had passed at all. She had said she was sorry and he forgave her, he always would.

She took a deep breath and turned the handle with a click, pulled open the door and saw him leaning against the wall.

She gave a small smile, nothing had changed. "Hey Spike, come in" she said.

He gave a small nod and walked through the door and into the living room. After she closed the door behind him she followed him through. He was standing in the middle of the room, not knowing where to put himself.

"You said we needed to talk luv" Spike said.

"Yeah we do" she said, "It's just hard to put into words." This was true, she had been trying to plan in her head what she was going to say but she couldn't think. He had once put it into words in an abandoned house in Sunnydale when the First had taken over, but now it was her turn, and she just didn't know what to say.

"Ok" she said, psyching herself up. "You wanna sit down or something, you're making me nervous".

He covered his smile as he sat down on the sofa. He couldn't help but find this amusing. Seeing her so nervous and unsure of herself was rare and he wasn't used to it.

Buffy stood standing and she looked down at her hands. She looked back up again. "I'm sorry I left you in LA, I am really. And I know you want me to stop saying sorry but just let me finish. I do regret it, I regret you not having a part in your daughters life. But at the time, I was confused and I didn't know what to do, so I ran. Maybe if we talked more it would have been better, not that I'm blaming you. It was me and I know that now..." She was talking more quick than usual. Probably because she wanted to get it all out and she'd had it locked up inside for so long it was a relief to get it out.

Spike sat and listened to her. To hear her say these words felt like a dream. That he'll wake up and he'll be on his own in the dark again.

"… and now with you being here, I just feel. I don't know really, I don't think I can put it into words. But I do know that I don't want you to go. My feelings for you have always been here, even in Sunnydale when I was a complete cow…" she continued.

Spike gave a small grin, remembering what Buffy was like in Sunnydale and how she had treated him.

Buffy sat down beside him on the sofa. Spike turned to her, she wasn't wearing much makeup and her hair wasn't perfectly styled but she never looked more beautiful to him.

Buffy took a deep breath in and said finally. "…I love you". She looked down at her lap, afraid of his reaction.

"Don't say things you don't mean pet. Don't just say it because you know that's what I want to hear." He said a little coldly.

She looked back up into his eyes. "I'm not" she said. "See when you wanted me to say it and I didn't, you weren't happy. And when I do say it you don't believe me".

"It's not that I don't believe you luv, I just want you to be honest with yourself and honest with me." He told her softly.

"For the first time I am being honest. I'm not afraid anymore." She told him, there was so much love in her voice when she said those words; if his heart were beating it would have stopped.

Buffy leaned forward and kissed him passionately, leaning into him. He put his arm round her back and pulled her closer. They hadn't kissed in fifteen years, but it felt right, like it was meant to be.

She finally pulled back, took a deep breath in and slowly opened her eyes. She looked into his eyes again, her heart was racing and she felt alive. She felt like she had been dead for the past fifteen years and now was breathing again.

Buffy gave a small happy sigh. There was silence between then for a couple of minutes while they processed everything.

They moved apart a little more and Buffy leaned back into the sofa. She ran her hand through her hair. "Now what happens?" Buffy asked.

"I don't know love, I guess that's up to you." He said in a cool calm voice.

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All you Spuffy fans I hope you're a little happier. Update coming soon. All reviews welcome, positive or negative. Thanks to all my faithful reviewers once again, I write this for you and your support means a lot xoxoxox


	11. Chapter 11

_I don't own any of the characters in this they all belong to Joss Whedon, FOX and mutant enemy. You know the drill, so please don't sue. Written for fun not profit. _

_This is the sequel to my first fanfic are you happy now. If you want to understand this I recommend you read it but it's not essential. _

_Historians note: 15 years after Buffy leaves LA to England. This follows Buffy, Ella and the rest of the scoobies with the new watchers council_

Hey guys, yep a new update is here. Im so happy im writing again yay  ive tried something a bit new for me using different points of you (POV) so I hope it all makes sense. I know it sounds sad but reviews really do make my day so thanks to everyone who has reviewed so far and I hope you continue to do so. Now im gonna shut up so you can read. Enjoy !

Chapter 11 - It's all up to me 

Ella opened her eyes slowly and put a hand over her eyes quickly as the bright sunshine darted through the crack in the curtains. She stretched out in bed and yawned. She glanced at the alarm clock that was on her bedside table, it was ten thirty. she thought for a moment and knew it was time to get up. She pulled her self out of bed and adjusted her purple dotty pj shorts and she stretched once again. The band that had been holding her hair back was hanging on at the end and she pulled it out and shook her long brown hair out and let the waves cascade down her back. She went into her ensuite bathroom and had a quick shower.

Ella emerged from the bathroom in a fluffy white dressing gown and her hair wrapped up in a white towel. She walked out of her room and walked down the corridor towards her mums room, the sound of the shower running in her mums bathroom could be heard.

"Mum, I'm just going to borrow your hair dryer ok" Ella shouted so she could be heard over the shower. She walked straight into the bedroom and jumped when she saw a man lying in her mums bed. The room was pretty dark but she could see his platinum blonde hair and suddenly realised it was the guy from last night. Luckily he was asleep and Ella heard the shower turn off she quickly grabbed the hairdryer that was on her mums dressing table and dashed out of the room and closed the door behind her.

_Buffy POV _

She slowly stirred, the room was dark and the only light in the room was one from her alarm clock that gave a red glow across the bedspread. Her eyes still closed she placed a hand on her head, what had happened last night? She opened her eyes and turned her head and there he was, she remembered what happened. She quickly looked up at the ceiling, no it hadnt been a dream, it'd happened. It took Buffy a couple of minutes to get her thoughts together. Did this mean they were back together? 'I mean we slept a lot together in Sunnydale and we weren't exactly going steady' she thought. But she knew things were different between them now, the circumstances were different and she was different. A small smile crept across her face as she looked at him sleep, his hair as bright as ever, even in the dark. She slowly sat up so she wouldn't wake him and pulled one of the thin bed sheets off with her as she climbed out of the large bed. She quickly wrapped it around her. She looked at the clock, ten fifteen it read, 'I think I'll get a shower' she thought. She stared at him asleep, the rise and fall of his chest that happened by habit not because he needed the oxygen and it captivated her. She soon shook her head with a smile and walked into the bathroom to get a shower.

_Ella POV_

'Ok that's disturbing' Ella thought to herself as she hurried back to her room and closed the door quickly behind her. 'That was him from the other night. I never thought she would get a boyfriend, eww!' Ella pulled a face and set the hair dryer down on the bed. She quickly shook it off and started getting ready for what was going to be an interesting day.

Ella wore black skinny jeans, a white 'Sex Pistols' t-shirt and a silver necklace that her mum had bought her for her birthday. She let her long hair hang loose and it was now straight. She did her makeup and sat down at her desk. She glanced at the clock again, it was eleven thirty. She knew her mum would be up and about by now. Did that guy, Pike or something, realise she was there? Was he pretending to be asleep? 'I'll find out soon enough' she thought as she took a deep breath and walked out her bedroom.

... Buffy was in the kitchen wearing simple blue jeans and a red tank top. The toast popped up and she started to butter them. She glanced up at Spike who was watching her.

"What are you looking at?" she asked with a smile as she placed the plate on the table.

"Just you" Spike said with a smile as he drank his coffee.

She smiled as she grabbed a piece of toast off the plate and took a bite as she walked over to the fridge to get a glass of orange juice. Buffy knew he was still watching her and she tuned her head as she opened the fridge.

"Stop it" she said with a laugh.

"Can't help it pet. Just like watching you" he said as he took a slice of toast.

"No change there then" she said as she closed the fridge. She remembered when he used to sit on the tree outside her window and watch her, or follow her when she was on patrol, hoping she would get in a fight so he could give her a hand, anything to spend time with her.

Buffy sat down on the chair across from him at the table.

"So..." she said, unsure of what to say. She didn't like silence.

"So…" he said, mimicking her a little with his trade mark grin.

Before she could speak she heard footsteps coming down the stairs, and soon enough Ella walked in.

"Hey mum" she said with a smile, she looked at Spike. "And hi em…", she clicked her fingers trying to remember his name. "Pike?" she asked.

"Spike" he said with a smile, "but close enough".

Ella nodded. She looked at her mum and knew she felt awkward. Spike sensed the tension and stood up.

"I'm gonna go for a smoke" he said as he took the carton of cigarettes out of his pocket. "You can go in the back garden" Buffy said as she got up out of her chair and walked towards the back door. She then suddenly remembered that he couldn't, it being a sunny day it wouldn't go down very well. "Or not" she said and turned around. "Go in the basement instead, the door is in the utility room" she said as she pointed to a room that led off the kitchen where she kept the washing machine.

"Thanks luv" Spike said as he walked out the room.

She smiled at him as he left and looked back at her daughter. Ella thought it was a bit weird but shook it off. She saw the uncomfortable look that had spread across her mothers face and decided to cut to the chase.

"I know, by the way" Ella said, "so you don't have to worry about trying to explain why he's here"

Buffy looked puzzled. "how did you..." she asked.

Ella put her hands in her pockets and started to explain. "Well I needed a hair dryer and I heard you in the shower so I went in your room to borrow it and he was there asleep, half naked, so I grabbed it and walked out."

"You went in my room with out knocking?" Buffy said folding her arms across her chest.

"You were in the shower! I wasn't expecting anyone to be in there ya know" Ella said in her defence.

"I've always told you to knock" Buffy told her daughter.

"Yeah well I didn't so there. Sorry" Ella apologised. There was a brief silence until she spoke again. "So is he your boyfriend then?" she asked with a small smile.

Buffy unfolded her arms. "Emmmm" she started. "I dunno yet, it's kinda a long story".

"But he likes you doesn't he, I can so tell" Ella said with a smile as she sat up on the kitchen counter.

"Yeah I think he does" she said. Buffy knew Spike liked her, more than liked her.

"Good, good. As long as he's nice to you that's all that matters. Oh and buys me stuff to get me to like him" Ella said with a grin and a giggle as she swung her legs. "I didn't think you'd go for a guy like him though." She looked at the expression on her mums face. She took a cookie out of the tin and took a bite, "I mean he doesn't look like your type of guy."

"And what would that type be exactly?" Buffy asked with raised eyebrows and a smile.

"I dunno a lawyer or someone else with a flashy job and a nice car. He doesn't look like a lawyer or anything. And I didn't think you would go for a guy who smokes either, you hate smoking! You always say, 'smoking is disgusting, smoking is bad' " she said mimicking her mum, "But what ever it's up to you."

"Yeah you're right it is up to me" Buffy said with a smile. She was a little surprised at her daughter's reaction. She expected her to be more shocked but she didn't appear to be, she was being very mature about the situation. She still didn't know if she was going to her Spike was her Dad, and if that happened she would have to tell her all the other stuff to about him being a vampire and who she was. All the things she had tried to protect her from. But at the moment that didn't matter. She was happy, she felt good and she didn't want that to spoil the day. But she knew the time would come where she would have to come clean, before Ella found out from some one else.


	12. Chapter 12

_I don't own any of the characters in this they all belong to Joss Whedon, FOX and mutant enemy. You know the drill, so please don't sue. Written for fun not profit. _

_This is the sequel to my first fanfic are you happy now. If you want to understand this I recommend you read it but it's not essential. _

_Historians note: 15 years after Buffy leaves LA to England. This follows Buffy, Ella and the rest of the scoobies with the new watchers council_

Chapter 12 - No catching up 

Ella had gone to watch tv in the living room leaving Buffy alone with her thoughts. Spike dropped the cigarette and extinguished it on the concrete floor. He walked slowly up the stairs back. He smiled at Buffy as he watched her from behind as she washed the breakfast plates in the sink deep in thought.

Buffy felt his presence even before she felt his arms slip around her waist from behind. He kissed her neck gently.

"You alright luv?" he asked her.

Buffy smiled, "yeah I'm good" she said as she placed a plate on the drying rack.

"What did she say?" he asked.

Buffy dried her hands with a tea towel and turned around in his arms looking up at him, "she was surprisingly mature. She seemed ok with it, I was expecting her to be angry or… oh I dunno. I guess it's a good thing she's being a grown up about it".

"Of course it's a good thing" Spike said to her, he leaned in to kiss her but stopped just as the door bell rang.

Buffy sighed.

"Ella can get it" Spike said as he leaned in a little closer, his lips brushing hers.

Buffy smiled, "not if she's watching her Lost dvds, she'll be there for hours". Buffy slipped out of his arms and out of the kitchen, down the hall to the front door.

She opened the door to reveal the feisty brunette slayer Faith.

"Hey B" she said with a grin. Faiths wavy hair hung loosely at her shoulders and she was wearing black jeans and a red tank top.

"Hi F" Buffy said playfully with a smile. The two head slayers had put their past behind them and had become friends, which surprised a few of the scoobies. Buffy stepped back and Faith walked in.

"I was thinking we could go over some slay….." faith started

"Hey faith!" Ella interrupted from the living room with her feet on the coffee table.

"Hi El you alright?" Faith asked.

"Yeah I'm good, watching Lost" Ella replied with a smile.

"That makes a change" Faith said with a smile.

Buffy nodded her head indicating they should go somewhere else to chat. They walked into the dining room across the way from the living room. Ella wouldn't be listening, she'd be too busy drooling over Jack and Sawyer.

"Yeah I was thinking we could go over some slayer stuff for the new semester" Faith said.  
"That's ages away" Buffy said.

"Yeah I know but me and Robin were thinking of going away for a bit so if we did it now it would be one less thing on my 'to do' list". Faith said.

"Emm I dunno today's a bit..." Buffy said.

"Luv, you got anything else to eat that the main ingredient isn't sugar?" Spike called from the kitchen.

Faith looked shocked at Buffy. "No way" she said with a grin and walked to the kitchen.

"Faith" Buffy called after her.

Faith walked in the kitchen and saw Spike looking through all the cupboards looking for something to eat.

"Spike" Faith said with a grin as she folded her arms against her chest.

Spike closed the cupboard door and looked at her. "Faith" he said. "Nice to see ya"

Faith nodded and had a wide grin on her face.

Buffy walked in the kitchen and stood next to the table.

"You Little miss tightly wound got her naughty on again haven't you" Faith said with a chuckle.

"No" Buffy said lying.

"A little bit" Spike said with his trade mark grin.

"I knew it" Faith said, "How long has this been going on, I mean come on B, he's here and you don't tell us. I guess you've been a little busy."

Buffy looked down, a little embarrassed.

"Aint been here long" Spike said.

Buffy looked back up. "Ok ok Faith, you caught us, I get it"

"Sorry B, I mean it's a bit of a shock ya know! He hasn't been around for what fifteen years and then suddenly he's here, not something I was expecting. But I mean what ever it's up to you."

'She sounds like Ella, Ella spends way too much time with her' Buffy thought.

Spike walked over to Buffy and put his arm around her. Buffy looked up at him, his blue eyes drawing her in again.

"Ok well I guess the slayer stuff can wait, you two have lots of catching up to do" she said with a wink, "I'll be off" she gave a quick wave and walked out of the kitchen.

"Now there's an idea" Spike said, "catching up sounds fun".

Buffy rolled her eyes. "Ella is in the living room Spike, you can't just say things like that"

Spike frowned, "Spoil my fun" he said.

Buffy laughed. "Sorry" she said.

Everyone will know now. Faith couldn't keep a secret to save her life, at least it saved her a job. She didn't know how everyone would take it, Giles wouldn't be happy. He had never been happy with their relationship in Sunnydale, if you can even call it that. Now with Ella around it gave him another reason to disapprove. But she was older now and she could do what she wanted, she could handle it. She wasn't the only slayer anymore, she had less responsibility. Willow would be happy for her she was sure… 'Wait does this mean that me and Spike are officially together now?' Buffy thought.

"Luv?" Spike asked.

"Huh?" Buffy said softly coming out of her deep thoughts.

"I just said what you want to do today, if we can't catch up, what can we do?" Spike asked.

"I dunno, anything. What normal people do." Buffy said.

"Not the best person to decide that pet, not exactly normal here" Spike said with a smirk.

"Come on" Buffy said as she took his hand and led him into the living room.

They spent the rest of the day watching tv. Lost was the main event and Buffy and Ella had to explain to Spike what had happened and what was going on. Buffy lay comfortably on the sofa, her head in Spikes lap as he played with her hair.

Ella sat on the floor leaning against an arm chair, occasionally glancing at her mum, noticing how happy she looked. It was nice to see.

………………………………………………………..

Hope you enjoyed that. thanks for the lovely reviews keep em coming.

Hope xxxxx


	13. Chapter 13

_I don't own any of the characters in this they all belong to Joss Whedon, FOX and mutant enemy. You know the drill, so please don't sue. Written for fun not profit. _

_This is the sequel to my first fanfic are you happy now. If you want to understand this I recommend you read it but it's not essential. _

_Historians note: 15 years after Buffy leaves LA to England. This follows Buffy, Ella and the rest of the scoobies with the new watchers council_

Easier this way

All the gang sat in the library at slayer head quarters. All the mini slayers were on summer holidays still so the place was practically empty. Apart from Giles, who had spent the summer so far organising books in the library. But this was Giles and no one questioned it. He is 'book man' as Xander very well put it.

"Well I'm pleased for you Buffy." Willow said with a smile.

Buffy smiled at her friend.

"You deserve some happiness. And you know what your doing." Willow said.

"Yep I do" she said with a smile.

Spike wasn't in here with the rest of the scoobies. She said she would call him after everyone knew, she thought it would be easier for her to tell them first rather than just him appearing. Less shock she thought, well a little.

"But why now?" Giles asked as he cleaned his glasses. "Why did he choose to show himself now?"

"Well, apparently he's been looking for me for a while. But the cloaking spell stopped him". Buffy explained.

"Ah of course" Giles said.

There was silence for a moment.

"I just thought I'd tell you all, rather than coming over and seeing him there, would be a bit more of a shock."

"Well not so much of a shock" faith said, she sat on the arm of the chair that Principle Wood sat in. "I found it quite funny".

Buffy looked at her friend. "You would" she joked.

Faith shrugged with a smile.

Buffy stood up with everyone else. "Well that's about it really. Go enjoy your vacation, school will be back before you know it" she said cheerily.

Everyone said their goodbyes and left Buffy alone in the room. But Buffy noticed not everyone had left. Xander still sat in his chair.

He stood up slowly, "Buff" he said.

"Yeah" Buffy said. She was feeling quite pleased that they all took it quite well, but Xander didn't look so happy.

"im just…. worried about… you and him." Xander said. "I mean, Spike …. You and him…" he didn't seem to be able to get his words out very well. He took a deep breath. "I mean, ok. I'm worried about you. Spike is unpredictable."

"He's not anymore, well that I know of anyway." Buffy said.

"Yeah but, with him you don't see straight. And Ella, is this good for her?" Xander asked.

Xander had been a great help in bringing up Ella. When he wasn't travelling around looking for new slayers, he was helping Buffy.

Buffy sighed. "I worry about her too. But I haven't had a boyfriend and I can't be on my own forever, I need someone."

"I know you do, I don't want you to be alone either" he said, "but why does it have to be him. He tried to rape you" he whispered.

Buffy looked down, she hated that. One thing about Spike, one memory that she had of him that turned her stomach. She took a deep breath. "I know" she said quietly. "but that was a long time ago, and it wasn't him. He wasn't himself. And partly it was my fault, the way I treated him was unforgivable. And it was him just lashing out at me. He wouldn't hurt me now, I know that" she said.

Buffy put her hand on her friends arm. "I know you're looking out for me and I appreciate it. But I guess if it all goes wrong you can say, 'I told ya so'" Buffy said with a smile, trying to make light of the serious conversation.

Xander smiled and gave her a hug. "I just don't want you to get hurt again."

"I know" she said, "neither do I". She pulled out of the hug and smiled. "Just try and be happy for me ok"

Xander nodded.

Buffy turned and started to walk out of the large library.

"what are you going to tell Ella, I mean, are you going to tell her Spike's her dad?" he asked.

Buffy turned slightly. "I dunno. Nothing for now, it's easier this way."

Xander nodded and Buffy left.

………………………………

Buffy walked out of library and into the large grounds of the school. Small, well kept gardens surrounded the main campus and living quarters. As most of the slayers came from all over the world, they slept at the school. It was basically a boarding school. She sat down on a bench and took out her cell phone. It was getting late, she didn't realise that they had been chatting for so long. She dialled in Spikes number and pressed call.

She listened to it ring then heard his voice, and instantly she smiled.

"Hey luv" Spike said.

"Hi" Buffy said with a smile.

"How did it go?" Spike asked instantly. He knew that Buffy really cared about what her friends thought and was afraid they would get her to change her mind about him.

"It went ok. I think maybe some of them were hiding what they really thought, but overall it went well." Buffy said.

"That's good" Spike said with relief.

"Yeah. Xander was worried." Buffy said.

"Well yeah he would" Spike said. He and Xander never got on very well.

"he's just cares about me that's all, but its ok." Buffy said.

"You sure?" Spike asked, a little worried.

"Totally. We're all good. They aren't going to change my mind. I know what I want" she said with a smile. "You still at home?" she asked. It was strange how she said 'home' like it was his as well. This was going very quickly.

"Yeah I'm still at yours, watching tv. I miss American tv. I know I should be all patriotic and love English tv, but the soaps just aren't as good. I miss Passions" he said in a babyish voice.

Buffy laughed. "Awww baby" she joked.

He chuckled to himself.

"Anyway I'll be home in a bit ok" she said. And after they said their goodbyes she hung up and started to make her way home, on the way picking up a bottle of wine and some beers for him.

Buffy walked into the house and found Spike on the sofa watching tv. He sat up as she walked in the living room. Buffy put her bag on the floor by the door and put the beers and wine on the coffee table.

"oh we're celebrating" he said with a smile.

"not really, I'm just sure you would like something else to drink apart from diet coke. The butchers was closed so I couldn't get any blood for you sorry." She said as she sat down next to him.

"ah don't worry about it luv" Spike said.

Buffy nodded and Spike switched off the telly.

Spike put his arms around her and kissed her neck. "Maybe we could do some celebrating now" she said seductively.

She laughed a little. "Is that all you think about?" she asked.

"Well slayer, we have fifteen years to make up for." Spike said with a grin.

Buffy rolled her eyes and looked at her watch. "im hungry" she said changing the subject.

"So am I" he said.

Buffy knew what he meant and looked at him.

"I" she said, "am going to go make some food. You can watch tv or go and get a very cold shower."

She got up and grabbed the wine and beers before he could protest and went into the kitchen.

Spike sighed and leaned back into the sofa. That cold shower sounded like a good plan.

……………………………………………..

TBC

Hope you liked it. see I really should have been studying for my psychology exams but I wrote this instead lol. Im sooo going to fail. Anyway hope you enjoyed it. please review as always I love to hear what I can do to improve or just like to hear how much you liked it. or didn't like it , im not fussed. Talk soon xxx


	14. Chapter 14

_I __don't own any of the characters in this they all belong to Joss Whedon, FOX and mutant enemy. You know the drill, so please don't sue. Written for fun not profit. _

_This is the sequel to my first fanfic are you happy now. If you want to understand this I recommend you read it but it's not essential. _

_Historians note__: 15 years after Buffy leaves LA to England. This follows Buffy, Ella and the rest of the scoobies with the new watchers council_

Chapter 14 – honesty is the best policy 

That evening was perfect. They ate dinner like a normal couple, had normal conversation. Buffy smiled at him from across the table. How had she done without him for fifteen years?

"What you smiling at?" Spike asked her.

"nothing." She said. "I'm just……" Buffy trailed off, it sounded so corny.

"What?" he asked her, intrigued.

"I guess I'm just happy" she said and looked down at her empty plate, she cheeks slightly blushing. She didn't remember a time when she had felt so exposed, well emotionally exposed.

Spike grinned, some how pleased with himself. He rarely saw this side of her. A genuine smile from her was rare. Around her friends all those years ago he remembered her forced smiles, those laughs that sounded to him not so genuine. He knew this because when she smiled, smiled for him, her eyes would light up like stars.

She couldn't take this over exposure much longer, so she stood.

"What ya doing luv?" Spike asked her.

"Just clearing up" she said as she took his empty plate off the table and placed it on top oh her own.

He took her spare hand in his own and as if on queue Ella walked through the door. She took off her jacket and placed it on one of the hooks.

Buffy could see her from the dining room. "Nice of you to grace us with your presence" she said with a smile.

"Oh sorry Mum, didn't know you were cooking" Ella said as she kicked her converse off and then noticed her mothers expression and then placed them neatly by the door. "I was out with auntie dawn, late night shopping ya know". Ella lifted the bags in her hands. "Got some cool stuff as well."

"Great" Buffy said with a smile. "Well there's some dinner for you on the counter, just put it in the microwave when you want".

"Cool" Ella said and walked upstairs to put her new purchases away.

Buffy collected the side plates and empty glasses and took them into the kitchen.

Spike soon followed and watched her washing up.

"need a hand pet?" he asked.

She turned her head to face him. "Nah I'm good thanks, it's therapeutic."

He jumped up and sat on the counter a short distance from her.

"Do" spike said. "Do you think Ella is going to be a slayer?"

"Emm…" Buffy said, it was a random topic for him to bring up. "I'm not sure really. I don't see why not. But I don't want her to be around this stuff. If she does turn out to be a slayer, then I guess it's something I'll have to deal with but I'd rather keep her away from it. I worry about her enough, her out chasing demons is a little more worrying than I can handle."

"Well, if she's anything like her Mum I'm sure she'll do just fine" Spike said with a smile as she put the last plate on the rack.

She turned suddenly to him. "I think I should tell her…. I mean we should tell her".

Spike raised his eye brows, "about what?" he asked.

"about you, being her 'you know what'" she said. "I mean if you want her to know. If you don't… that's fine…. We can keep it as it is… I don't really mind…. It would just be nice… nice to be a family ….. but if that doesn't sound good to you, I get it I do, and im rambling and I'll shut up now" she said looking down, butterflies in her stomach awaiting his response.

He smiled at her and climbed down off the counter and walked up to her and lifted her face in his hands, so she looked him right in the eyes.

"I think it's a great idea, pet" he told her.

Buffy smiled and kissed him.

After Ella had put her new clothes, and several pairs of shoes away, she wandered downstairs in search of the food her mum had told her about. She found it on the counter and put it in the microwave like her mum had told her. When it was ready she walked in the living room and found her mum and Spike watching tv. They both looked up simultaneously at her as she sat across from them in an arm chair.

Buffy looked at Spike, then turned off the telly.

"I need to talk to you El" she said.

Ella looked up from her food. "About what?" she asked.

Buffy reached for Spikes hand, he took it and knew how uncomfortable she must be feeling.

"You're not pregnant are you?" Ella asked with some shock in her voice.

Buffy made a nervous laugh, "no of course not".

Ella gave a sigh of relief. "Well what did you wanna tell me".

Buffy looked down at the floor. "You better sit down."

"I am sitting down" she said as she raised her eye brows.

Buffy looked up, that was stupid. "Oh yeah, ok, well I'm just going to get on with it" she said. rip the band aid off quickly. "There's no easy way to this but ..Spike……. Is….. Spike is….. Your father"

………………………………………………………………………

_well don't worry folks the next chapter will be up by the end of the week so not long to wait. Please review as it shows me people are actually reading ! thanks to those loyal readers who have been here since the start as__ well, you guys really do make it worthwhile !_


	15. Chapter 15

_I __don't own any of the characters in this they all belong to Joss Whedon, FOX and mutant enemy. You know the drill, so please don't sue. Written for fun not profit. _

_This is the sequel to my first fanfic are you happy now. If you want to understand this I recommend you read it but it's not essential. _

_Historians note__: 15 years after Buffy leaves LA to England. This follows Buffy, Ella and the rest of the scoobies with the new watchers council_

Chapter 15 - Honesty isn't always the best policy

_Buffy looked up, that was stupid. "Oh yeah, ok, well I'm just going to get on with it" she said. rip the band aid off quickly. "There's no easy way to this but ..Spike……. Is….. Spike is….. Your father_

Ella dropped her folk loudly on her plate. Her eyes widened and so did her mouth. She couldn't speak, it was like she forgot how to. She looked at her mum then at Spike then back at her mum. She slammed her plate on the coffee table.

'What?! I don't understand, he was dead, all my life I thought he was dead. No it cant be him, I'm dreaming. I must be dreaming! I don't understand, how am I meant to deal with this!!!'. Ella thought. Her mind was working in overdrive but her body felt as if she was going in slow motion.

They sat in silence for a while. Buffy looked at Spike and he squeezed her hand to comfort her. This wasn't easy for either of them.

Ella looked at the man who was supposedly her father. He didn't look like the fatherly type. The long, leather jacket that he was still wearing, even though he was indoors. Why did he do that? His bleach blonde hair. 'Is he trying to be cool or something?' Ella thought. Before she did think it was cool, but now she knew he was her dad it just seemed weird. 'he's my dad', she thought again.

"Ella" Buffy said quietly, looking at her daughters confused and shocked face. "baby please say something."

Ella inhaled deeply. "I don't understand" she said quietly. "How can you…. How can this…."

"I know this is a lot to take in" Buffy said, trying to keep her voice as level as possible, trying to forget the knots that were ravelled up in her stomach and the lump that was in her throat.

Ella took a deep breath in. "A lot to take in?" she said. "A lot to take in !" she said even louder. "Bloody hell mum, you told me he was dead. I had NO father. Now you come and tell me he's sitting right there. That he's been in my house and I haven't known." Her voice was still getting louder and louder.

"Yeah I know" Buffy said, she was starting to feel slightly ashamed of herself.

"How could you lie to me mum?" Ella said, tears starting to fall from her eyes.

Buffy had never seen her daughter really cry before, she always seemed so happy.

"How could you lie to me all this time ? All this time, he was alive and you never said a word. You never spoke about him, only when I asked and then you rarely gave me a straight answer." More mascara tears ran down Ella's cheeks. She felt so betrayed.

Buffy felt a tear fall from one of her eyes and quickly wiped it away.

Spike didn't really know what to do. He glanced at Buffy and then Ella.

"What have you got to say for yourself, huh?" Ella shouted at Spike.

"What do you mean?" he asked, trying to stay calm. He didn't like being shouted at, but knew Ella was upset and had every right to be.

"What do I mean?! Where have you been? Why have you shown up now?" Ella asked, still shouting. All her pain had turned to anger. She wanted to lash out at everyone. They had all lied, they all must have known about Spike. How was she meant to know what was real and what was a lie.

"I didn't know where you were" Spike told her honestly.

"Didn't know where I was?! How could you not know?! Ella shouted, now on her feet, the coffee table between herself and her parents.

"When your mum left LA, she didn't tell me…." Spike said but was interrupted.

"Oh so this is you!" Ella said pointing at her mum. "This is all YOUR FAULT. You're the reason I grew up without a father, you've ruined my life!"

"No" spike said standing up as well. "Don't blame your mum".

Buffy stood and looked at Spike. "Yeah she should blame me, it is all my fault."

"Come on luv" Spike said. "It's not all your fault. She doesn't know what I was like, what I did. You had your reasons."

"I don't care, there's no reason for these lies, all this time and you never said anything!" Ella said, the tears had stopped but her blood still boiled.

"You don't understand. At the time, I did it to protect you." Buffy said quietly. She felt like her heart had been pulled from her chest. She hated seeing Ella like this. She hated feeling like this.

"Protect me from what? I don't understand…." Ella said, looking at her mum.

"From me" Spike said.

Ella looked at him, even more confused. Why would her mum need to protect her from Spike, he was her dad. What could he have done that was so terrible that made her leave him, with no word to where she was going. Why had he not stopped her?

"Lets not go there" Buffy said to him. "It's past, it doesn't matter. All you need to know," Buffy said looking at Ella, "is that he's different now and that's all that matters."

Ella looked down, "I need time to think." She said and with that she ran straight out of the living room and straight upstairs.

Buffy collapsed on the sofa, he head in her hands. The tears were now falling quickly from her eyes. Her heart was breaking. Her daughter hated her, and she had every reason to, this was all her fault. If only she had done things differently, been honest from the beginning, then none of this would have happened.

Spike sat down next to her and pulled her to him.

Buffy's head rested on Spikes chest. She tried to speak but it came out as sobs.

"its ok" he said quietly.

"how….." Buffy said, taking a deep breath. "how is this going to be ok?" she whispered.

"she'll come around" Spike told her.

Buffy looked up at him and wiped her eyes she sighed. She looked into his piercing blue eyes, and knew there was no going back now. This evening had been an emotional rollercoaster. Early she had been so happy, and things were normal and now her relationship with her daughter was in tatters. How was Ella going to trust her again ?

……………………………………………..

_TBC _

_lots of conversation in this chapter I know !! I hope you liked it. bit more drama than other chapters so I hope it makes a nice change. _

_R&R if you please. Positive and negative welcome. _


	16. Chapter 16

Ella sat on her bed with her knees to her chest and head in her hands

_I __don't own any of the characters in this they all belong to Joss Whedon, FOX and mutant enemy. You know the drill, so please don't sue. Written for fun not profit. _

_This is the sequel to my first fanfic are you happy now. If you want to understand this I recommend you read it but it's not essential. _

_Historians note__: 15 years after Buffy leaves LA to England. This follows Buffy, Ella and the rest of the scoobies with the new watchers council_

_Wow I really thought I had uploaded this last chapter, I don't know what happened. I know its been forever and I was checking up on other stories when I checked my profile and it hadnt added the last chapter. How odd. Well you guys have probably stopped waiting for an update but this is for any lurkers out there :P thanks for reading this, I know the updates for this have been aweful but at least you've ot an end now !! __Thanks again for all reviews I really appreciate it xx _

Chapter 16 - As it should be 

Ella sat on her bed with her knees to her chest and head in her hands. It felt like the world had fallen down around her. Everything her mum had told her had been a lie. 'How do I know this is the truth? There could be loads of things she lied about, how can I trust her again?' Ella thought to herself. She was so tired, like all the adrenaline that had been buzzing around her body earlier had disappeared. She was weak, lonely and lost.

Ella lifted her head and wiped her eyes with her sleeve, leaving black mascara marks on her shirt. Her eyes drifted to her window. The moon was hidden behind the dark clouds and everything felt cold. Suddenly Ella stood up and grabbed her jacket from her chair next to her desk and quickly put it on. She grabbed some tissue and stuffed it in her pockets, knowing that she would be needing it later. She took one last glance around her room, grabbed her purse from her bed side table and walked over to the window. She opened it with ease and slid out into the night.

The cold air hit her lungs; the sign that autumn was closing in on what had been a great summer. She looked around, darkness, no one around. She didn't know what time it was but she knew it must be late. She didn't realise how long she'd been sitting in her room in silence for. But no other houses in the street had lights on, every one was sleeping. The only light, apart from that of her own house, were street lights. Their glowing yellow lamps like stars in the darkness as she set off. She didn't know where she was going, but knew she must get away. She couldn't think, not in that house, full of lies and deceit.

Ella wasn't concentrating on where she was going, she wasn't looking for anywhere in particular to go, she just needed to get away. Her hands in her pockets and her head hung low she walked for what seemed like ages, time seemed to be moving very slowly. She looked up and saw she was nearing the park, knowing that it would be empty she opened the gate and started walking down towards the swings.

She wiped the seat and sat down on the middle swing. Rocking backwards and forwards, her mind still racing. Her mum used to bring her here all the time when she was little. She closed her eyes and sighed.

_The sun was brightly __shining and the sound of children playing flooded her ears. Ella was sat on the swing, her legs unable to touch the ground. _

"_mum push me" Ella shouted to her mother who was sitting on the swing next to her. Ella kicked her legs around, trying to get herself moving with no success. "pleeeeasee" she added with a smile and a batting of eye lashes. _

_Buffy rolled her eyes and got up off her swing. "ok" she said and stood behind her daughter. "But soon you're gonna have to learn to push yourself, you're six you're a big girl, right?" she asked._

_Ella smiled once again. "Yeah I'm a big girl with short legs mommy" Ella giggled at her own joke and Buffy smiled. _

"_Higher! Higher!" Ella screamed with delight and she soared higher into the air. This was her favourite thing to do at the park. Her mum would push her so high that she felt she was flying. _

Ella opened her eyes, shaking off the memory_. _She wished she could go back. Go back to the times when it was just her and her mum, she wished she'd never known about her father. She wanted everything to go back to normal.

* * *

Buffy couldn't sleep, not tonight. Too much was going on in her head. She wasn't sure whether she should have been truthful from the start or just have never told Ella the truth. She knew which would be easier at the moment. Spike was sleeping soundlessly next to her. She watched him sleep for a while. She was glad that Spike would now be part of their lives properly now, she was. But the way Ella had looked at her, it broke her heart. They had always such a strong relationship, probably because for a long time they'd only had each other. Now everything would be different.

"Luv why are you watching me?" he whispered with his eyes still closed.

Buffy didn't reply she just looked away from him.

Spike opened his eyes and sat up and leaned his head back against the headboard. He watched her closely; he knew she had been crying.

Buffy sighed and he placed a gently hand on her shoulder.

"Sorry if I woke you, can't sleep" Buffy whispered, still not looking at him.

"Don't worry 'bout it pet" he said as he let his hand fall down her arm.

Buffy pushed the covers off her and got out of bed, she pulled on her dressing gown and pulled her hair into a low pony tail loosely. She turned around and finally looked at him.

"I think I'm gonna go check on her" she said quietly.

"Its 2.30 luv, she's gonna be asleep" Spike said. "Come back to bed, talk to her in the morning".

"I can't…. I can't leave it like this. She thinks I betrayed her" she said. "I can't have her thinking that." A tear fell from her eye and she quickly wiped it away and took a deep breath.

He knew there was nothing he could do to change her mind, so he let her go.

Buffy walked silently across the landing and went to Ella's door. She couldn't hear anything, maybe Spike was right, she was asleep. She opened the door slowly and quietly, the room was dark. She looked over to the bed, it was empty. Her stomach dropped to the floor. She looked quickly round the room and her daughter was no where to be seen. Buffy noticed the open window and realised that's why the room felt so cold. she walked over to the window and looked out into the night. She ran out of her daughter's room and back into her own.

Spike had drifted back off to sleep was woken by the sound of Buffy crashing the door in a state. "She's gone, what are we going to do?! Anything could happen to her out there on her own!!" Buffy spoke very quickly and Spike got out of bed and put both hands on her shoulders.

"Slow down, what's happened" he told her in a calming voice.

"Ella, she's not in her room. Her window was wide open I think she's run away." Buffy said, a couple more tears falling from her eyes. "This is all my fault".

"She probably just wants some space, time to think. I'm sure she's fine." Spike said. But Buffy was already getting dressed.

"She's in no state to be out on her own, left alone at this time of night. Anything could happen to her. Of all people, you should no it's not safe." Buffy said as she pulled on a jacket. "Are you coming not?" she asked, already fully dressed.

He nodded with a sigh, he also knew this wouldn't be a great time for her to go out and look for Ella it would just make things worse he thought. Their emotions were too high and this will probably just get blown out of proportion. Spike got dressed and they left the house together.

* * *

Buffy hurried down the street, her jacket wrapped around her tightly. She had no clue where Ella could have gone. She could be anywhere by now. Spike walked next to her in silence. He knew Buffy was worried, and he had a feeling she would just snap at him, so he stayed quiet as his eyes searched in the shadows for his daughter.

They turned a corner and where noticed they were at the park. Spike reached his hand forward and touched Buffy's arm. He pointed over to Ella, still sitting on the swing.

Buffy stopped and turned to him.

"Do you mind? I think I need to do this alone" Buffy told him.

Spike sighed. "Ok, don't be too hard on her".

And with that Buffy slowly walked towards her daughter, wondering whether she could ever find the words to explain. Try and make her see that what she did, she thought had been for the best. But she was wrong, she knew that now.

That conversation had been one of the longest and hardest things she had ever done. She had sat on them swings with her daughter for what seemed like hours. She told her everything, the good, the bad and the very ugly. Ella listened carefully, the things her mother had gone through, at her age where incredible. And now she understood why she did the things she did. Why she tried so hard to protect her.

But now, everything was different. Her mother was happy, she was happy. Everything was as it should be. Ella had learned things about her self in the last year that she never thought possible; the world had opened up with so many opportunities. Everything was right with the world, well for now. Her mum had told her things wouldn't be quiet for long. There was always something around the corner trying to destroy the world. This still surprised Ella, monsters, demons, it was all real. And she would fight against it, alongside her parents, fighting the good fight, as a slayer, one of many.

* * *

THE END


End file.
